If there is one match that resembles a World Cup round of 16 match, it is Japan-Argentina scheduled for Sunday in Nantes (1 p.m.). The stakes are simple: the winner will qualify for the quarter-finals.

The duel which will be attended by 35,000 Beaujoire supporters appears open and attractive. Not that the two teams have offered flamboyant rugby since the start of the competition, quite the contrary. Nippons and Pumas fell short of expectations, in a Group D which nevertheless seemed to promise surprises with the presence of a sick England. The XV de la Rose easily disposed of its two rivals to secure first place.

At 15 against 14 for most of the match, Argentina appeared helpless on September 9 in Marseille (10-27), defeated by three drops from George Ford. Since then, coach Michael Cheika’s men have entered survival mode. “In international rugby, there are not always decisive matches but we have been in this state of mind since the match against England,” he explains.

His hooker and captain Julian Montoya confirms: “Since our defeat against England, we only play finals.” Faced with the criticism he and his teammates have been subject to since their inaugural defeat, the Leicester Tigers player prefers to talk about the “resilience of this team. Against England, we were unable to resolve certain problems and we already criticized ourselves to know what we should do. Against Samoa and Chile, we found the solutions.”

The Pumas actually won their next two matches, against Samoa (19-10) and Chile (59-5). But if this formation “continues to grow every week” as fullback Juan Cruz Mallia asserts, it remains far, for the moment, from the level of its predecessors, who reached the last four in 2007 and 2015. The specter of an elimination in groups, like in 2019, this is what haunts these Argentinians, under pressure. “That’s why we play rugby. If we are looking for the easy way, if we want everything to be planned in advance, then we must not come,” proclaims Michael Cheika.

Many inexperienced players in the group will experience their first high-stakes match. The opportunity for them to “learn and gain experience,” assures their coach. They will be surrounded by five of the six most capped players in Pumas history, Nicolás Sánchez (100), Pablo Matera (97), Julian Montoya (91), Matías Alemanno (90) and Agustín Creevy (104 caps).

The latter evokes the “foreground” role of the leaders, whose mission will be to “guide the young players, to tell them where to place themselves, to reassure them, to pass on the experience to them and to make them appreciate the moment, too, despite the pressure.” It seems to work with Mateo Carreras, the 23-year-old winger: “The pressure, if there is any, it is they, the most seasoned, who will manage it. For my part, I don’t feel any pressure, any stress.”

It will take clear ideas to overcome the Japanese, determined to “win so as not to die” in the words of Yuichiro Fujii, team director. The defeat against the English (12-34) and the sluggish victories against Chile (42-12) and Samoa (28-22) force the Japanese Brave Blossoms to compete in one of the most important of Jamie Joseph’s mandate. For the occasion, the Japanese speak of “Samurai Time”. “It was the players who led the training rather than the coaches,” Fujii explains. Once the katana is out, it’s life and death. We must bring down our katana (sword in Japanese) on the opponent to defeat him.”

Conquest, kicking, speed, discipline… Many tactical points were discussed during the week, on both sides. But on Sunday in Nantes, it is undoubtedly the heart which will take precedence. The state of mind, the passion, beyond any consideration of game plan.

Japanese second row Warner Dears dreams of qualifying his nation for a second consecutive quarter-final. “In 2019, I was still in high school. I was impressed by the impact of the Japanese rugby team’s results in the country, but also throughout the rugby community. It was incredible. If we qualify for the quarter-finals, and maybe more, it will considerably develop rugby in Japan.” For its part, Agustin Creevy’s Argentina is ready to “die with its ideas”. On Sunday, for sure, there will only be one left.